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<p>Last year Government launched a Call for Evidence to assess what further steps
and intervention may be needed to create a responsible payment culture. A full response
will be published shortly and will contain a full package of policy measures.</p><p>During
the Spring Statement, the Government announced that it will require large company’s
Audit Committees to review payments practices and report them in their annual accounts. This
will elevate payment practices to Board level and increase transparency.</p><p>Government
is clear that unfavourable payment practices is a serious issue, particularly for
smaller businesses. That is why we have a range of measures in place with the aim
to address the imbalance in market power between parties, increase transparency and
encourage better payment practices through culture change.</p><p>The Payment Practices
and Performance Reporting Requirement requires large businesses to report biannually
on their payment practices and performance. Businesses must publish this information
on gov.uk, providing transparency in payment practices and making payment behaviour
a reputational, board room issue. To date over 13,000 reports have been submitted.</p><p>The
Small Business Commissioner, launched in December 2017, is committed to supporting
Britain’s 5.7 million small businesses to resolve payment disputes with larger private
sector businesses, helping drive a culture change in payment practices.</p><p>Government
continues to support the Prompt Payment Code as a best practice in payment standards.
Last year, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a new, tough and transparent
compliance regime to ensure the Code is rigorously enforced. The Secretary of State
also announced that he had appointed the Small Business Commissioner to the Prompt
Payment Code Compliance Board.</p>
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